Health authorities acted quickly to provide preventative treatment to 11 infants who were exposed to measles, aiming to reduce their risk of developing the highly contagious disease.
All 11 infants, under 1 year old and too young to receive the measles vaccine, were exposed when they visited the same Logan clinic as a patient confirmed to have measles, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The exposure occurs amid an ongoing measles outbreak in Utah, which has so far affected 42 people. The patient represented the first confirmed case for the Bear River Health Department, covering Box Elder, Cache, and Rich counties, officials said in a Sept. 19 statement. That number has since increased, with four confirmed cases in the Bear River jurisdiction, according to the Utah measles dashboard. Previously, most cases were concentrated in the southwest portion of the state.
The exposure took place on Monday, Sept. 15, Bear River health director Jordan Mathis told the Tribune. “We had until Sunday to get all those individuals and get them the treatment,” he said. “We definitely had to figure things out on the fly.”
By Friday evening, all families had been contacted. Nine of the 11 infants received the post-exposure medication at a temporary clinic established by the health department, while two were referred to an emergency room for treatment.
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“I view it as a great flow of communication and collaboration in order to hopefully reduce the spread of the disease in our community,” Mathis said.
A representative for the Bear River Health Department told the outlet that none of the infants have shown symptoms; PEOPLE has reached out for further comment.
The infants received a post-exposure prophylactic globulin, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control explains is “used to provide antibodies for short-term prevention of infectious diseases, including measles.”
While this medication helps those unable to be vaccinated — such as these infants — Utah health officials emphasized that vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent measles.
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Measles causes characteristic red skin inflammation, but “measles isn’t just a little rash,” the CDC notes. The virus can be dangerous, particularly for babies and young children. Along with a high fever, cough, and runny nose, it can lead to pneumonia and encephalitis (swelling of the brain), which can result in hearing loss, cognitive disabilities, or death.
According to the CDC’s most recent update, 1,514 confirmed measles cases have been reported in the U.S. this year — a 430% increase from 2024, when there were 285 cases.
